


Across The Way

by inthestars



Category: Carmilla - Fandom, Hollstein - Fandom, carmilla karnstein - Fandom, laura hollis - Fandom
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 15:43:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15052487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inthestars/pseuds/inthestars
Summary: Laura once looked across the street and saw chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Obviously love at first sight. Other than that, though, she can’t say she’s ever looked at a person and felt that same sense of inevitability...(can someone say foreshadowing?)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a thought while waiting for a subway in Santiago, Chile. Gotta love a little fluff. I haven’t written much in the past two years so please be kind and patient with me!
> 
> Comments always welcome!

The air is stale and more than likely filled with all sorts of pollutants sure to cause Laura cancer later in life... assuming she didn’t die of a sugar overdose before then. She tucks her headphones into her ears and tries her best to adopt the “I’m 5 foot 2, but still a badass” look to deter other passengers from talking to her. 

A _whoosh _of wind signaled the imminent arrival of her train. A loud beeping and the mechanical clunk of subway doors opening. A business man with a Bluetooth piece in his ear and talking loudly pushed past and knocked into Laura’s shoulder as he rushed out of the train. A mother corralled her five year old through the doors as she waved a tiny hand up at Laura. Forgetting for a moment, that she was supposed to be unapproachable, Laura flashes a bright smile and little wave back. A couple teenagers with heavy backpacks followed and then, the influx of new passengers carried Laura into the train.__

__Laura’s home station was 10 stops down the line with no need to transfer trains. On this day, she was lucky enough to snag one of the seats despite how full the train was. The opening notes of “As You Wake” by Hannah & Maggie came drifting through her headphones. Laura settles herself in her seat, turns up her music, and closes her eyes to listen._ _

__About half way through the song, Laura feels her train stop and the rushing of people out the train. She opens her eyes to check which station they were at, when the train going the opposite way speeds past in a blur._ _

__The train passes, the crowd settles, and Laura feels the sudden need to look across the tracks to the other platform._ _

__Laura’s train starts creeping to a start as a stupid memory swims forward in her mind: she had once looked across the street and saw chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Obviously love at first sight. It had been a hot day, and in that moment, she knew she had no other choice but to get a cone of ice cream. As she happily licked at her ice cream, she laughed at the thought that crossed her mind, _if only someone could look at me the way I just looked at that ice cream _.___ _

____Her face flushed red but her eyes stayed locked on the girls from across the way until the tunnel swallowed the train and all that was left was the empty seat in front of her._ _ _ _


	2. Chapter 2

Carmilla cursed as she shrugged her black backpack off her shoulder and rifled through it until she found her over-ear beats. The damn things were giant, but somehow always took several minutes to locate in her bag.

She pulled the headphones on, adjusted the strap of her bag, kicked a carton of soy-tasty out of her path and descended the stairs to the subway.

Today had been a particular treat at the office. She worked for her mother as her personal punching bag on days she wasn’t in class. Today, she had been five minutes more late than normal due to a class running late. She had strolled through the office door and was met by her mothers scowl. The rest of the afternoon had been filled with reasons why Carmilla choice of perusing a PhD in philosophy was less than worthwhile. 

Lolita spent no less than two hours rambling on and on about how her useless daughter could be so underdriven. Her daughter was meant for more- meant to be the next CEO of Silas Incorporated. Not meant to be filling her head with dry notions thought up by old quacks who never contributed anything of true substance to society.

When time took mercy on Carmilla and the clock hit 5pm, she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. As she turned the handle and took a step over the threshold, her mother called after her in her, “Oh Carmilla, dear, I almost forgot. You are required at the Hilton this Saturday at 7 sharp. I’ll have your outfit sent to your apartment. This is not up for negotiation. Corvae’s CEO and his son will be in attendance. They wish to meet you. You may leave now.”

And with that, Lolita turned on her heel and Carmilla was dismissed.

The more Carmilla stewed on the coming weekend, the darker her mood became. She stomped through the station and found a spot alone on the side of the tracks. Staring down at the yellow line meant to keep people a safe distance from the train. She heard the train arrive on the opposite track and looked up.

There, across the way in the opposite train, was a girl with honey colored hair and a soft smile on her face. She was nodding along to what Carmilla assumed was music when she opened her eyes and looked straight at Carmilla. Carmilla raised an eyebrow at her and the girls face turned pink. The train carried her away and Carmilla found herself cursing the strip of paint at her feet and the tracks beyond that had kept her from stepping on the train heading the opposite direction of her mother, away from her apartment, away from her life, and with this girl whose mere look soothed the storm brewing inside of her.


	3. Chapter 3

“Today was kind of weird,” Laura didn’t bother saying hello to either of her roommates as she walked through the front door of her apartment.

Perry and LaF exchanges bemused looks as Laura buried her head in the cupboard in search of an afternoon snack. Perry shrugged and pointed at LaF to signal that it was their turn to inquire further.

“Uhhh, hey there L, wanna elaborate?”

“Oh, sorry, hi guys,” Laura’s voice was muffled by the cookie in her mouth. “Okay, so first I got to work and the editor actually acknowledged me today. I mean he called me Hoffman instead of Hollis, but that’s progress, right!”

“Sounds like things are improving at the new job, dear! Now stop shoveling sugar in your mouth or you’ll spoil supper. It’s already in the oven,” Perry tsked her disapproval. 

A chagrined Laura put the cookies back in the cupboard and continued, “so that was cool. Plus the sports writer dude finally stopped hitting on me. I’m glad about that because I actually think Kirsch would be fun to hang out with if he wasn’t such a dudebro, ya know? Anyway, work was good. But the weirdest part was that I was on the subway and saw this girl at one of the stations.”

Laura trailed off for a few seconds and stared expectently at LaF.

“Earth to Laura? A girl? At the station? Seems pretty run of the mill to me.”

Laura snapped out of the memory of the girl with the black leather jacket and replied, “I don’t know. It was weird. I was just sitting on the train and looked out the window and there was this girl there. She looked really cranky,” Laura frowned, “but when she looked at me I just got this weird feeling. Have you ever had that happen to you? You see someone from across a crowded place and for some reason everyone else kind of just disappears?”

LaF glanced over to where Perry was fussing about the kitchen and sighed, “Yeah, I might have some experience with that.”

Laura nodded understanding at her friend and then shook her head, “It’s stupid. I’ll never see her again but I’ve never had a moment like that where someone looked at me and it was like something just clicks into place.”

“Which bus stop were you at?”

“Bibliotecha. Isn’t that the one you take to get to school, LaF?”

LaF nodded, “Yupp that’s the place. The university is only like two blocks from there. Maybe she’s a student too.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Laura was saying as she wandered off to her room wondering why this stranger was different than the rest.


End file.
